Nine 'Nontraditional' College Students From Branford Awarded Rotary Club’s 2025 Resilient Scholarship

Submitted/written by Andy Marlatt/Branford Rotary:

BRANFORD, CT —When you’re a college undergrad in your thirties, or older, chances are you’ve got stories.

Stephanie Nettleford, for instance, is 36, a single mom, studying to be a nurse. But after moving from Jamaica to the U.S. with her daughter nine years ago, Nettleford ran into serious health problems. College seemed out of reach.

At 34, David Nazario is studying water management, something he admits he wasn’t ready for earlier in his life.

“I was a troubled kid when I was younger,” said Nazario. “I struggled and dropped out of high school. I worked in restaurants for 12 years. I started college late, but that’s part of my journey.”

For Jeffrey Givner, 51, the journey has been no less dramatic. Just two years ago, after struggling with addiction, he overdosed. Givner said he was hospitalized, went through rehab and has been sober ever since. Today, he’s a 4.0 student on his way to becoming a certified addiction counselor.

They’ve all taken different paths – paths that weren’t always clear, and certainly weren’t straight. But they’re all resilient, which is why each of them is among the nine winners of Branford Rotary’s 2025 Resilient Scholarships.

Now in its second year, Rotary’s Resilient Scholarships are awarded to adult “nontraditional” students from Branford who are age 26 and older and attend CT State College – Gateway in New Haven. For 2025, Branford Rotary awarded $7,000 to students at Gateway, where tuition is less, and aid has a bigger impact than at traditional universities.

Scholarship winner Caitlyn Pasquine, a 28-year-old nursing student at Gateway, exemplifies that impact.

“If you’re going back to school and you’re 28, you’re going back for a reason,” said Pasquine, who said she “bounced around” after high school, working in real estate, cosmetology, and restaurants until she found her calling. “When you’re older, you don’t have endless time and funds, so the money you get won’t be wasted. And you know that (recipients) contributing to society is kind of guaranteed at the end of it.”

“Nobody in my life has ever said, ‘You’re going to school? I’m going to help you,’ added Nettleford. “When I heard I got the Resilient scholarship, tears were just streaming down my face. I called my mom immediately. I said, ‘Mom, you’re never going to believe this. God works in mysterious ways, and He’s going to blow your mind!”

Growing up in Jamaica, Nettleford said her family couldn’t afford college, so she worked in hotels and call centers until 2016, when she moved with her daughter, Skye, to Connecticut. A year later, she was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissues and organs. With a daughter to raise, and increasing medical bills, Nettleford could have stepped back, but instead she stepped forward. Inspired to help those in medical need like herself, she enrolled at Gateway, got a nursing certificate, and began working at Yale New Haven Hospital. She works there still, but is now back at Gateway to get her nursing degree.

Givner, too, was inspired by his own challenges, and he is open about his story. He had a good job in the liquor business for 24 years, but then, he said, “life started falling apart.” He lost a family member. His marriage ended. He started drinking heavily, and drug use followed. This went on for more than two years, he said, until the fall of 2023, when he overdosed. He was found by his then-teenaged son, a moment that shocked him into finding help.

In a treatment center, Givner said he found he had a knack for helping others talk about their problems. The center’s director suggested Givner could make a career of it. Community college was the next logical step. He had saved money from his first job, and maintains a frugal lifestyle so he can go to school. He also believes the Resilient Scholarship isn’t entirely about finances.

“The financial help is always needed, but more than that, it’s the recognition that I could do it,” he said. “I sometimes struggle with self-confidence. Knowing someone else believes in me was huge, and getting a Resilient Scholarship is a game-changer because it allows me to focus my energies on school and on my work.”

Across the country, there are millions of motivated, older students who have jobs, and often young families, but rarely get support. Unlike many high school seniors, these nontraditional students pay their own way to enroll in universities, community colleges, or technical programs where they look to earn certificates in fields like electronics, automotive repair, or water management. Branford Rotary’s Resilient Scholarships hope to change that.

“It’s not just money (Rotary) is giving me. It shows you are seeing me,” said Resilient Scholar Andrea Coello-Cardenas, 30, who moved to Branford from Ecuador three years ago and now studies accounting. “It’s hard for people like me, someone whose English is not too good, but to know people believe in me, it is important. It makes me feel like I can call this home.”

Added Nazario: “When you’re older and want to go back to school, you’ll encounter a lot of people that will tell you it’s a waste of time, or it’ll be too hard, or they’ll tell themselves they don’t have time to do it. But don’t let anyone else tell you that you don’t have time, and don’t tell yourself that, because you’ll find there’s people along the way who will help you, like the Rotary.”

If you want to help Branford Rotary help students like these, or if you want to learn more, drop a note to info@branfordrotary.org.